Various types of drum heads and drum head mounting assemblies are known in the art of musical instruments. Typically, a drum head, or skin (so-called whether made of animal skin or synthetic materials), is drawn over the open top (and/or bottom) of a drum body and is attached to the exterior of the drum body by tacks or hooks. While generally satisfactory, this type of drum has been found to have certain drawbacks. For example, these types of drum heads are permanently affixed, in numerous locations, to the drum body, making disassembly difficult or impossible. In addition, they typically have bulky rims and external attachment hardware that is aesthetically undesirable, and that can impede unrestrained play, particularly play by hand, by presenting hard, irregular, and protruding surfaces that the player is likely to hit.
Traditional drum head assemblies are also difficult to tune and adjust. Typical tensioning hardware, like the mounting hardware, is located externally, where it limits the player's ability to play. This hardware can be a safety hazard, and is not aesthetically desirable. Internal tensioning devices are known, but are difficult to access and manipulate in drums having permanently affixed drum heads.
Accordingly, a drum head having tensioning and mounting means that are accessible to the user, while not hindering the use or detracting from the appearance of the drum, is needed.